Findlay announced his decision to step back at the end of the year at last night’s pledge meeting at Gateshead Hilton.

Revealing there was never any provision for his role in the business plan ratified by the RFL yesterday lunchtime, Findlay said he will fight to rubber-stamp Thunder’s 2010 security until the turn of the year.

The RFL has confirmed it had agreed Thunder’s new business model and would demote the club to Championship One and dock them six points.

That took the tense edge off last night’s rally, allowing the Thunder bosses to speak clearly and definitively about the way ahead.

Delighted by the RFL’s decision, head coach Hood paid tribute to Findlay’s decision to step down as a vital step towards the club’s safety.

Hood said: “Rod has taken quite a lot of flak over the last few months but it has not been deserved and he has been working very hard behind the scenes.

“There are not many people who see how hard he works and how much he cares about the club and its future.

“I think this shows how much he cares because he has put the club first and realised this was the best way to protect its future.

“He has been great to work with and it has been more a friendship than a working relationship.

“I know he will continue to have Thunder’s best interests at heart even after he has left.

“The decision coming ahead of the meeting meant that just a little bit of the pressure was off.

“It meant we could go in there with certainty about what we were telling people is going to happen.

“Hopefully now that will attract more interest, because we have that backing that what we are proposing carries weight and will give people the confidence in us that comes from that official endorsement.

“It is a massive relief and a weight off everybody’s shoulders, but it is also only just the start of the story.

“We still need to work hard on sponsorship and things off the field but also we are throwing everything into putting a strong squad together.”

Findlay said: “There would have been no point at all in trying to safeguard my own future at the jeopardy of that of the club.

“We looked at the options, but the fact was that the money has to go elsewhere to ensure the club moves forward and is viable.

“I will stay on until the end of the year – and hopefully I can help set everything up for next season.

“So there is still a lot of hard work ahead, but this was the sensible decision and one which hopefully will benefit the club in the long run.

“I am not sure whether I will stay in sport or return to law.

“I am still a shareholder currently, and if I stay in the region and it is possible then that may continue.

“If I move away or my work commitments don’t allow then I may well have to relinquish that.

“I have not set anything in motion yet though, so the next six weeks or so will be totally centred around ensuring Thunder are in the right place come the turn of the year.”